Another step has been taken toward bringing the arts to downtown Woodstock.

The Woodstock City Council on Monday night approved a memorandum of understanding with the Towne Lake Arts Center, the organization sponsoring the proposed Elm Street Cultural Arts Village.

The memo specifies that the council will make a formal presentation to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners to request funds from the county's $90 million parks bond be used to purchase property for the project.

Mayor Donnie Henriques said the city would need between $200,000 and $250,000 to begin acquiring property for the project. No final determination as to how much it will cost to build the village has been determined.

The city also agreed to: assist the arts center in negotiations with the property owners, consider purchasing the property if needed prior to the approval to purchase the property using parks bond revenue, provide staff support in designing the master plan, waive rezoning fees as part of the project, construct a portion of its Greenprints Trail through the property and to work jointly with the arts center to develop public parking on the site.

"This is a good opportunity because we have the local capital that we've never had before," Henriques said, noting the city has numerous people who are willing to commit to the project.

The proposed village also is part of the city's efforts to bring "multi-functional" parks and recreation facilities and amenities into the city, the mayor added.

The proposal would use the old Reeves home on Elm Street, which is between 2,500 and 3,000 square feet, as a visual arts center for galleries and exhibits and could serve as an educational tool to teach about life in Woodstock a century ago.

Also on the property would sit a Market Street Theatre. The "black box" theater would allow for acting classes and intimate performances to be held in downtown.

Four acres of greenspace would be left undeveloped for recreation and outdoor events. Also, a portion of the Greenprints Trail would cut through the property, allowing for pedestrian or bike access.

The house, a two-story abode with a spacious front porch and multiple bedrooms, on roughly one-and-a-half acres was built between 1897 and 1906 by Luther Reeves.

It was to be used as part of the Hedgewood development company's plan to create a grid network on the west side of downtown.

However, those plans were abandoned as Hedgewood, which developed Woodstock Downtown, went into foreclosure. The house, which has been vacant for about three years, currently is owned by Ameris Bank, formerly Bank of Woodstock.

Since the summer, local artists Ann Litrel, Shawn McLeod and Towne Lake Arts Center Artistic Director Gay Grooms have worked to clean up the property, which was overgrown with vines, brush and kudzu.

In the coming weeks, city leaders will sit down with representatives from the arts center to come up with a formal plan to present to the Board of Commissioners, said Richard McLeod, community development director for the city.

Mrs. Grooms said she's excited about the community coming together to support the proposed village.

"It's a slam-bang, fabulous idea that's too good not to happen," she said.